Chandler's Secret
by Vixie Bing
Summary: *Epilogue up now, re-written and much better!!!* Chandler's got a secret and the rest of the gang are beginning to find out. A scene filler from the show, read the Authors note for more details. series 7 C&M please read and review ;)
1. Default Chapter

Chandler's Secret  
  
Authors note: Hiya everyone, I got this idea when I was watching Friends the other day and I was reading the back of the video case and it said that Ross saw Chandler sneaking out of a male strip club but it DIDN'T happen in the show (TOW Joey's Award, series 7 episodes 17-20)! So I decided to write my own version. It might not seem like its going anywhere in the middle of this but it is, I promise. And I'm also sorry if I don't update this as often as some people may wish but I'm in my final year at school and totally behind in my school work and as writing is just a hobby I don't have that much time to write, even though I want to. Enjoy :-) BTW this is in series seven at the time of TOW Joey's award but some of the events in the show don't happen here, please comment if you notice any mistakes and I'll correct them ASAP.  
  
One more thing. PLEASE REVIEW :-) it really means a lot to me. Thanx, I'll get on with the story now.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they belong to their creators at Warner Brothers studios.  
  
© Vixie Bing 2003  
  
  
  
  
  
Ross smiled as he began to walk home from the university. It wasn't far to his apartment and it was a warm March afternoon so he didn't bother getting a cab. He was excited about his sisters and best friends upcoming wedding, the two people who he cared most about in the world were declaring their love to the world and promising to love, cherish and protect each other for the rest of their lives. He was a little surprised, not to say relived that Chandler hadn't freaked out yet, although Monica was doing that enough for the two of them. They suited each other, both neurotic and obsessive. He smiled as he thought of what their children would look like.  
  
He crossed over the street after thinking of his own son for a block or two. As he walked past the traffic waiting anxiously for the lights to change he thought he saw someone familiar out of the corner of his eye. As he reached the sidewalk he paused momentarily to look around but saw no-one he knew or recognized. He began to walk again when he felt it once more, the familiarity of someone in the crowd. He looked around again at the shops nearby. The bakers that he was planning and intending to walk in to to buy his afternoon snack, a bookshop, a drycleaners, a male strip club and a video store. There was a blonde woman pushing a pram with twins in it, an old man walking his dog, a large person which he couldn't tell if it was a man or woman and a man standing outside the strip club. Ross carried on walking, his gaze fixed on the man outside the club. He was tall, medium build with short brown hair. He smiled to himself when he realised what had seemed so familiar, the man outside the strip club did strike a resemblance to his future brother-in-law Chandler.  
  
He purchased his snack and stepped back outside. As he walked past the male strip club he tried to look out for the brother in law look-alike but he wasn't there anymore, instead there was a badly dressed transvestite and the person that Ross couldn't decide whether it was male of female.  
  
He carried on walking and decided to walk another block to Central Park to eat his snack before visiting Ben. As he reached the gates of the park he opened the paper bag and pulled out what appeared to be a cheese bagel.  
  
'This isn't what I ordered!' Ross exclaimed to absolutely no-one. A woman holding on to the tiny hand of her small daughter glance quickly at Ross before quickening their pace. Ross smiled apologetically at their retreating backs and began to walk back to the bakers to get the cinnamon log he had ordered. As he walked past the strip club again somebody clumsily knocked in to him as he hurriedly left, leaving the doors swinging shut, withholding once more the swaying music, jeers of half drunken men and dim lights.  
  
'Sorry.' Came an all too familiar voice as the person grabbed Ross to stop him from falling and, without even so much as glancing at Ross he hurried away again, round the corner and then he was out of sight. But no way out of Ross' mind.  
  
The owner of the all too familiar voice had without a single doubt been Chandler. Ross stood on the sidewalk forcing bustling, irritated pedestrians to walk around him as he wondered what the hell his future brother in law and best friend had been doing in a all male strip club just a couple of months before his wedding.  
  
Ross walked in to the coffee house later that evening. Monica and Phoebe were having a discussion about the bridesmaids dresses for the wedding, Chandler was sitting next to Monica, his arm around her waist, reading a newspaper and Rachel was sitting at the table near the bar reading a book, squirming in her seat and grimacing every few seconds with a pale, sickened look on her face. Ross walked over to the bar and got his coffee and then walked back over to the gang.  
  
'Hey guys.' He said putting one hand on Rachels shoulder.  
  
'Agghh!!!' Rachel yelped, jumping up and spilling her coffee and causing the entire coffee house to stare at her. She smiled back at them. 'Again, nothing to worry about. Seriously.' She added to Ross.  
  
'Rache, that's like the third time you've yelled out like that. The book cant be that bad!' Chandler stated gesturing towards the novel in her hands. Ross was handed his coffee and he went to sit down in the single chair.  
  
'Sorry, but Donna and Julie just went down to the basement of the wax museum alone and the owner of it has just been murdered.' Rachel shuddered. 'and you tapped me on the shoulder just as one of the wax models started to move and we already know that the Sons of Midnight are down there searching for the Grimoire as well!' Rachel exclaimed, receiving blank stares from the rest of the gang apart from Chandler who was smiling.  
  
'So it's interesting then?' Chandler asked. Rachel nodded eagerly.  
  
'It's SO graphic as well! But really gross, I mean there was a bit a minute a go when this woman stabbed a mans hand, impaling it on to the window ledge and he just ripped his hand away, leaving the knife in the ledge!' Rachel finished, she Monica and Phoebe all grimaced and squirmed, almost in unison at the comment.  
  
'So Joey would have buried that book deep in the freezer by now then.' Chandler said. Ross looked at him. it was definatly him that had run in to him outside the male strip club. But why! Why was he there in the first place? The gang had used to tease him about being gay but Ross never thought that he actually was. But what other reason was there for him to be there? Ross sat there, deep in thought whilst the others were talking about their favourite books. But quarter of an hour later he was no nearer to finding out the answer then before. Maybe he should just come right out and ask him whether or not he was gay. He suddenly became angry. Even if he was gay how dare he go behind his sisters back and go to male strip clubs! If he would prefer to do that then why didn't he just come out and admit it instead of hiding in the security of the engagement to Monica. He was going to do some serious damage to Chandler if he ever hurt her.  
  
Ross suddenly got up and left the coffee house without another word to his friends. Rachel, Phoebe Monica and Chandler stared after him as he slammed the door on his way out.  
  
'What's his problem?' Phoebe asked. 'You think we need to send him to another anger management class?' Chandler wondered aloud. They stared at the door for another moment before resuming their conversation.  
  
  
  
It was the next morning and Monica was in the kitchen, beginning to make breakfast. She felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist and a face began nuzzling her neck. She stopped what she was doing to enjoy the feeling. She turned around to face her fiancé and their lips met in a tender kiss. time seemed to melt away as they held each other.  
  
The didn't hear the door open and their friends walk in for their breakfast.  
  
'Sorry guys.' Joey said as he noticed the couple. 'Do you want us to go.' Chandler and Monica pulled apart and smiled at their friends.  
  
'Nah, I was meant to be doing the breakfast anyway.' Monica told them.  
  
'Sorry was I distracting you?' Chandler joked, smiling at her. Monica grinned back and then went back to doing the breakfast.  
  
Ross looked at them and began to wonder if what he had been brooding on all last night was even close to the truth or not. He seemed to really love Monica and would never do anything to hurt her. He could have been hiring a stripper for her bacholerette party anyway, even if it was Rachels job.  
  
'Hey, what's everyone doing today?' Joey asked half way through breakfast. Monica and Ross said that they were going to have lunch with their parents, Chandler said he had a meeting, Phoebe was babysitting the triplets she had once surrogated and Rachel didn't answer, she was reading that book again. 'Rachel!' Joey said, annoyed at having to keep calling her because of that book.  
  
'Mmm yeah?' she responded, still not even paying attention.  
  
'Ross just admitted that you guys weren't on a break.'  
  
'That's great honey.' Rachel replied. Everyone but Ross and Rachel smiled at each other.  
  
'Rachel' Joey said.  
  
'Put The Book Down!' everyone yelled.  
  
'Fine!' She yelled, slamming the book down on the counter. She carried on as normal for a moment before: 'Oh but they just went in to the house and the walls were breathing and bleeding and everything.' Once more receiving blank looks from the gang.  
  
'So anyway, what are you doing today?' Joey asked.  
  
'Nothing really, why'd you ask?'  
  
'I have and audition today and I wanted one of you to come with me, you know, for moral support.'  
  
Rachel nodded, she didn't have anything to do today so why not? 'What's the part?'  
  
'I wanted to audition in this part on Will and Grace. I'm gunna play this mail man that comes to Grace's office and she falls in love with him but somehow Jack messes it up.'  
  
'Wow that's a good part.' Chandler said before getting up and grabbing his briefcase. 'Good luck with that man I hope you get it.' He patted Joey on the back and then said to Monica 'I'll be in a meeting all afternoon sweetie so I wont be home until tonight.'  
  
'Didn't you just have a meeting yesterday?' Monica asked frowning. Chandler looked blankly for a moment, looking to Ross as if trying to think an explanation.  
  
'Yeah but we're closing a deal with another company and so we're doing to have a lot of meetings.' He hurriedly explained, he then gave Monica a kiss on the cheek, said goodbye to his friends and walked out.  
  
*Yeah, nice try Chandler Bing * Ross thought *I'll find out what you're up to * 


	2. Chandler's Secret 2

Chandler's Secret  
  
Authors note: Hiya, thanx a lot for all the positive feedback from the last chapter but I had to laugh when almost all of the reviews had a note about the fact that when chandler bumped in to Ross he said 'Sorry mate' when Americans don't say things like that. Ok ok I get it and im sorry lol didn't know it was that obvious ;-). You have to understand that I am English and we do say stuff like that over here but Thankyou to everyone who mentioned it, I've changed it to just saying 'sorry' now. If you notice anything else just tell me and I'll change it. Here's the second chapter, it might seem a little rushed but I was writing it in a Leisure and Tourism class because I didn't have any other work and the teacher kept looking over my shoulder (though I told him it was an English creative writing essay that happened to have the same names of the F*R*I*E*N*D*S cast lol)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, but the plot is (sort of) mine.  
  
©Vixie Bing 2003  
  
  
  
  
  
'Don't listen to what they say Joey, I thought you were great' Rachel said, trying her best to consol a downhearted Joey.  
  
'Yeah, I know, I just wanted that job so much! It'd look really good on my résumé.'  
  
'Yeah, but you don't know, you still might get it.'  
  
'Rachel! I fell right off the stage!' Joey yelled, several people turned to glance at him before carrying on about their business. Rachel stifled a giggle before speaking again.  
  
'Yeah but they're going to be judging you on how you acted, not whether or not you fell off the stage.' Rachel said soothingly. Joey shrugged and nodded slightly but said nothing. They carried on walking a little way until they reached the subway.  
  
'How many trains is it home?' Joey asked.  
  
'Just one.' Rachel replied checking her watch. 'But we're going to have to run if we want to catch it.' They quickened their pace and found out that they had actually arrived early.  
  
'You sure we didn't already miss it and we're waiting for the next one?' Joey said. Rachel shook her head, they were defiantly on time. They stood at their station waiting for the train. Rachel looked around at the other people in the subway, giving them the 'Manhattan once-over' where se looked everyone up and down giving their outfit a once over. As she was doing this she noticed someone in the crowd.  
  
'Joey, isn't that Chandler over there?' Rachel asked. Joey looked over to where she was pointing.  
  
'Yeah it is. But what's he doing here? He said he was in a meeting all afternoon. What was so important that he had to lie?' They watched as he looked around, searching for someone. The train pulled in to the station and Rachel and Joey had no choice but to drag themselves away from watching Chandler. They were staring out of the train window as the train began to pull away. They saw a tall, medium build man with sandy brown hair walk up to him and hug him. Chandler hugged back and as the train sped out of sight they were still hugging.  
  
  
  
'You don't think he's gay do you?' Joey asked Rachel. They had come home and were now in the coffee house sitting by the window and looking out at the street.  
  
'I don't know. I mean I know we always teased him about it but I never thought he actually was.' Rachel replied.  
  
'Don't you think we're reading too much in to this? I mean he was only hugging another man, he could have been an old friend from school or someone.' Joey said after they had sat there in silence for a few minutes. Rachel nodded and they carried on sitting in silence.  
  
'But why did he lie then and say that he was in a meeting? Surely Mon would be ok with him meeting an old friend.' Rachel stated. Just at that moment Ross walked through the door and went over to the bar. He got his drink and looked around; when he saw Rachel and Joey he went over and sat down with them.  
  
'Hey guys, how'd the audition go Joey?' He asked.  
  
'Just fine until I fell right off the stage.' Joey said. He put his head in his arms and mumbled something incomprehensible. Rachel patted his shoulder and then looked at Ross.  
  
'Hey, you know Chandler said he had a meeting this afternoon? Well we just saw him in the subway.' She laughed as if this were a joke but then turned serious 'Why would he lie?' Ross stared at her. 'What?'  
  
'Yesterday when I was coming home I was passing by that male strip club place and he came running out and knocked in to me. I don't think he noticed it was me though.' Ross Rachel and Joey all looked at each other, something was definatly up.  
  
'Ok, so now we can think that the man at the subway he was hugging is more then just a 'friend'' Joey said.  
  
'What man on the subway?' Ross asked. Rachel quickly filled him in on what the man had looked like. 'Hey! He was standing outside the strip club yesterday as well. Maybe Chandler was meeting him.'  
  
'Maybe, but don't you think we should ask Chandler about all this instead of assuming things?' Joey said.  
  
'Nah, he'll just deny it. But I do think we need to find out what's going on, for Monica's sake' Rachel said.  
  
'Yeah, Monica rang him when we were on the way home from our parents to say that she had to work late tonight and he told her that he was working tomorrow morning as well. So I propose that we follow him! find out what he's up to before he hurts Monica.' Ross said. Joey and Rachel nodded.  
  
'Can Phoebe com too?' Joey asked. Ross and Rachel agreed and they started to make plans to spy on Chandler.  
  
  
  
'O, I'd better go now, I don't want to be late for the meeting.' Chandler said the gang the next morning as he picked up his briefcase. Everyone except Chandler and Monica looked at each other, the plan was about to commence. They had met up with Phoebe in the coffee house later the day before and decided on what to do.  
  
Phoebe would walk with Chandler to work, claiming to be going that way anyway and once he had walked in to his office she would go to the small café across that street and watch to see if Chandler left work early. She would then call Ross who would be doing some research in the library round the corner and would follow Chandler once Phoebe gave the signal. Rachel had taken the day off of work and was waiting at the train station in case he wanted to go anywhere by train, she would get on the same train and follow him. Joey was nearby in the porche in case he wanted to take a cab.  
  
Chandler walked over to Monica and gave her a kiss goodbye and then walked over to the door.  
  
'Hey, I have to past that way, I'll come with you.' Phoebe said.  
  
The plan was set. 


	3. Chandler's Secret 3

Chandler's Secret  
  
Authors note: Hi everyone, thanx for all the positive feedback on the last chapter. This one reveals the secret and you won't be left wondering anymore. BTW I used the name 'Taylor' because my favourite cousin had a baby on the first of December, a little boy name Taylor and he is SOOOoooooooooooo sweet I could just eat him (but I won't lol) so this whole story is dedicated to him.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, only Taylor. (I mean the character in the story Taylor, not my baby cousin ;-) )  
  
  
  
'Is there any sign of him yet?' Ross asked to his cell phone. He was in the library looking over his students reports from the last terms assignments. He had found a perfect place in the library where he could see out of the window and down at the street below.  
  
'Well no!' Phoebe said in to her cell phone. 'Otherwise I would have told you.' She rolled her eyes and looked at the entrance to Chandler's building again before taking another sip of her coffee. It was her third one this morning and if he didn't come soon then she would be buzzing from the caffeine for the rest of the afternoon. She was sitting in the small café across from Chandler's work. It wasn't bad, quite nice actually. Small but cosy, not too brightly lit and each of the table were separated in to individual booths, each one surrounded on the sides by trellises that had fake branches twisting in and out, secluding the booth next to it from view. The rest of the café was pretty standard though. Phoebe looked out the window she was sitting by. People came and went out of the building but no-one ho looked like Chandler.  
  
'Ok then. Remember to-'  
  
'Give you a call when he comes; I KNOW' She cut him off. He had rung her three times already and each time reminded her of that, as if she was likely to forget so soon. It was coming up to 11:30. Maybe Chandler was taking an early lunch? That would mean he would be out soon.  
  
'Ok then, see ya.' Ross said and hung up.  
  
Phoebe resumed her staring out of the window for another fifteen minutes with nothing happening when she was the familiar face coming out of the building. She pressed the speed dial on her cell phone and called Ross. 'He's left the building; I think he's going to call a cab. Shall I call Joey?' She asked. Ross told her to do so and she hung up.  
  
'-handler how do you work this thing? I HAVE pressed the button . so I speak now? . Hello! You've reached Joey Tribbiani, I can't come to the phone right now but leave a message and I'll get back to you, and if you're hot then leave your number and I'll defiantly call you back. what do I do now then? What button? You come press it. Wait I think I got it, is it that -' at the machine recorded beep Phoebe realised that Joey didn't have his phone with him. Chandler was now out of site and Phoebe groaned. All this for nothing. The bell above the door tinkled as another customer came in. Phoebe got up and turned around to walk out when she noticed that it was Chandler. She ducked under her table as he walked past and sat down in a booth right next to hers.  
  
She heard him clearly through the trellace separating the two booths as he ordered two drinks. Phoebe guessed that he was meeting someone there, and soon enough a tall, medium build man walked in to the café and over to Chandler.  
  
'Hey man' Chandler said and the two men embraced each other like brothers.  
  
'Have you ordered yet?' The man asked. Phoebe heard Chandler say that he had and the two men sat down. She tried to look through the trellis at them but the branches were too thick and she couldn't see anything so she listened to the conversation.  
  
It was half an hour later and Phoebe was once again bored. It was obvious that the man was just an old school friend or something as they kept remembering things like: 'Hey, remember when we were in forth grade and Susie Moss had tipped paint in that girls chair, you know the one you had a crush on, and so you walked past her and 'tripped' over with the paint.' Chandler said. His friend laughed. Phoebe thought it was weird that in the half an hour she hadn't heard the mans' name.  
  
'So, tell me about the wedding.' He said, Chandler smiled and shook his head.  
  
'Monica's been making all the decisions. And I don't mind, I just want her special day to be the way she dreamed it.'  
  
'What about what you want?'  
  
'Me? I just want to be able to get through this marriage better then our father.' Chandler said. Phoebe froze. OUR father? Chandler and this man were brothers! Or maybe she had heard wrong, maybe he had said 'our fathers' and that the mans' dad was the same kind of person as Chandlers'.  
  
'Aw so you're not planning to go table dancing in your own Vegas drag show then?' The man laughed. Chandler laughed along but obviously not as light- hearted.  
  
'So that's what dad's doing then.' He mused.  
  
'Well it's what I guess.' Phoebe had noticed it again. Dad, not plural. Were these two men brothers? She jumped, spilling the fresh coffee that had just been delivered when her cell phone rang.  
  
'Hello?' She whispered, not wanting to give her voice away to Chandler.  
  
'Phoebe, any sign of him?' Ross said. Phoebe scowled; didn't this man have any trust in her?  
  
'Yeah he's right here but I can't talk now.' She said and hung up.  
  
'And how are the books coming along?' The man asked.  
  
'Good, really good. One was on the best sellers list! And it sure beats data processing.' They both laughed at this.  
  
'Some pretty sexy scenes in those books though, not going to take after our mother are you? Don't wanna do THAT to your kids.' The man stated. Once more Phoebe noticed it. Our mother. They must be brothers. But why hadn't Chandler ever mentioned him?  
  
'Hey, those were only to show that she was having an affair with her boss! Not really the point of the book like Mums'.' Chandler defended. This also had Phoebe wondering. Chandler was writing books now?  
  
Phoebe sighed agitatedly. She needed answers to these many questions, and she needed them now. She stood up, planning to pass casually by their table and notice them, saying she was on her way to the bathroom and then sit down and chat. As she started to walk she bumped in to someone and they both fell to the ground.  
  
'Hey, sorry. Should have been looking.' She looked up and saw that she had walked straight in to the man Chandler was talking to. She apologized as well and stood up. Chandler had come from the booth to see what had happened.  
  
'Hey Phoebe, what are doing here?' He asked. Phoebe smiled and told her story.  
  
'Um, Phoebes, bathrooms are THAT way.' He said, pointing the opposite way.  
  
'Uh. so what are those doors then?' She asked, trying to play innocent and cover her mistake.  
  
'That's the kitchen.' Chandler's friend told her. She smiled, trying to hide the humiliation that was creeping up and continued her cover.  
  
'Thanks for telling me, that would have been SO embarrassing.'  
  
'Um, that's ok. So what are you doing here?'  
  
'Having lunch, what are you doing here?' Phoebe retaliated the question.  
  
'Having lunch.' Chandler said meekly, as if he knew he was about to be busted. Chandler's friend stood there quietly, listening in on the conversation. Chandler noticed that they didn't know each other and quickly said. 'Phoebe this is Taylor, Taylor this is Phoebe.'  
  
'Hi there' Taylor said and shook Phoebes hand. There was silence again as no-one knew what to say.  
  
'Um do you want to sit down and chat?' Chandler asked, his question directed to Phoebe. Phoebe nodded and sat down.  
  
'Hey, I would join you but I still need to go to the bathroom.' Taylor said and headed off to the bathrooms.  
  
'I thought you said you had to go out of town today?' Chandler said.  
  
'Missed my train. I thought you were in meetings all day.' Phoebe shot back. Chandler started to look uneasy, as if he were hiding something, and Phoebe was sure he was. A moment later Taylor returned and sat down next to Chandler. Phoebe looked between the two; the similarities in them were incredible. They both had those bright blue eyes, cheeky smile and laugh lines around the eyes. Their hair was the same colour and they were roughly the same height. Any more similar and they could have been twins.  
  
'So how do you two know each other?' Phoebe asked. The two men looked at each other before Chandler spoke, and when he did it was almost as if it were a rehearsed speech.  
  
'We were friends in high school, Taylor's here for a few days so we're catching up on things.' He said. Phoebe nodded sceptically.  
  
'I heard you two speaking a moment ago; you were saying things like, 'our father'. What was that about?' She knew it was the right question, Chandler looked trapped, there was no revised answer for that.  
  
'Um. well, I meant, we-we didn't say father, I said father's'' Our dads are really similar.' Chandler stuttered nervously. It was an obvious lie.  
  
'Yeah right Chandler Bing.' Phoebe said. 'If you don't tell me then I'll tell Monica and SHE will make you tell her.' She smiled triumphantly when the look in Chandler's eyes told her she was right.  
  
'Hey.' Taylor whispered to Chandler. 'Maybe you should just tell her. It would be better then lying again. And you said you didn't want to stress Monica out before the wedding.' Chandler nodded and faced Phoebe.  
  
'Ok you have to promise not to speak until I've finished ok?' Phoebe agreed and Chandler took a deep breath before speaking.  
  
'Taylor is my brother.'  
  
Duh duh DUH!!!! Lol I'm a glad someone guessed this right. Sorry that that's all for now but I'm almost finished with all my coursework, just a few more weeks and then there will be more regular updates. Promise *Crosses her heart* Love ya'all. XXxxXX 


	4. Chandler's Secret 4

'Your what!' Phoebe exclaimed.  
  
'My brother.' Chandler said, as if he was admitting a huge secret. Well that was how Phoebe saw it.  
  
'You said that you were an only child! You said-'  
  
'Phoebe, you said you'd let me talk.' Chandler said, cutting her off. Phoebe sat silent and Chandler continued. 'We are bothers. He's ten months older then me, we were close growing up and people often mistake us for twins.' He told her, and sat back as if he had just explained everything.  
  
'Uh-huh ok so why didn't you tell us about him?'  
  
'Look, I think it would be easier if I told you all at once and you all met him together. How about you all come for dinner tonight? I can get out of the meeting.' Chandler tried to reason. Phoebe sighed and nodded.  
  
'Fine then.' She said and stood up, preparing to leave. 'Oh one more thing, what were you saying about the books?'  
  
'I'll tell you that tonight as well Phoebes.' And she left.  
'So what did he say?' Ross asked. He, Rachel, Joey and Phoebe were all sitting in Central Perk that afternoon and Phoebe was telling them what Chandler had said.  
  
'He's not cheating on her at least.' She said. The other three looked at her expectantly.  
  
'So what is he doing?' Rachel snapped after a minute of silence from Phoebe.  
  
'The guys name is Taylor, he's Chandlers' brother.' She said. The other three gasped.  
  
'His brother! But how? He said he was an only child.' Joey said. 'How does he explain that?'  
  
'Well come to dinner tonight and he'll tell you, he said he wanted to tell us all together.' She sat back to take a sip of coffee, before realising that maybe she had too much coffee already and set it down. The others started a conversation about why Chandler hadn't told them when Phoebe sat back up again, startling the others.  
  
'He also said he's writing books now!' She informed before sitting back down. 'And by the way Joey, you might want to change your answering machine message.'  
  
'Writing books?' Ross said. 'Why the hell hasn't he said any of this? What else is he keeping from us? Has he got a daughter, a mansion in another country or what?' His voice was rising with each word.  
  
'Ross calm down!' Rachel tried to reason. 'He probably has a good explanation, why does this affect you so much?'  
  
'Coz he shouldn't be keeping secrets! He's meant to tell us things like this!'  
  
'He is allowed to keep secrets you know.'  
  
'Not about things like this.'  
  
'Why not?'  
  
'Coz, we're his friends he's meant to tell us important things.' Ross exclaimed again. Phoebe smirked.  
  
'So why didn't YOU tell US about what happened to you on 'Space Mountain'? We had to hear it from Chandler!' Phoebe interjected. Ross went to say something, but thought best to keep quite.  
  
'Hey guys.' Monica said as she walked in. the other four stopped their conversation immediately. 'Hey why did you stop talking when I walked in the room?'  
  
'Why did you walk in the room when we stopped talking?' Phoebe retaliated. Monica frowned and shrugged as she sat down, deciding not to continue with that.  
  
'Hey Chandler rang, he said that you said we were all going out for dinner tonight?' She said. That had been news to her.  
  
'Uh, yeah, we, um, thought it would be a good idea if all six of us got together and talked, we never do that any more.' Rachel said. Monica stared at her.  
  
'Rachel, that's ALL we do.'  
  
'Yeah but this timer we're having dinner.' She said lamely. Monica decided to leave it again.  
  
'Yeah and Chandler said he had someone he wanted us to meet.' Joey added. Rachel and Phoebe shot him a glare.  
  
'Who?'  
  
'Someone, you know a person kinda thing.' Ross said. Monica sighed, she obviously wasn't going to get anywhere with this.  
  
'Ok.' She said. 'Where are we eating?'  
It was a fancy restaurant in the village, dim lighted with secluded booths and French food. Phoebe, Ross, Rachel and Joey were already seated and were waiting for Monica, Chandler and the guest. They were eagerly awaiting the answers to the questions that had been raised over the last few days.  
  
Monica followed the usher to the table and thanked him when he left. 'Hey this is a good place.' She said.  
  
'Where's Chandler?' Ross asked. He was afraid he was going to back out of this.  
  
'Well hello to you to. He's waiting for his friend to turn up; he knows where we're sitting. What is this all about anyway?' No-one had told her anything about this and it was clear something was up.  
  
'Chandler will say when he comes over here.' Phoebe promised. She could see where Chandler was waiting by the door and a few seconds later Taylor turned up. Chandler put his arm on his brothers' shoulder and led him over to the table.  
  
'Hey guys.' He said to the group. 'Phoebe I believe you and Taylor already know each other but everyone else' He looked around at their curious faces. 'This is Rachel, Ross, Joey and this is my wife Monica.' The gang greeted the stranger to them. 'Guys this is Taylor. He's my brother.'  
  
'What!' Monica yelled. Faces from the other tables in the restaurant turned to see what the commotion was. Chandler sat down next to Monica and tried to put his arm on her shoulder, but she brushed it away. Taylor sat down next to them and looked nervously at the friends staring at him.  
  
'Look, I really need to explain all of this to you and the only way this is going to make sense is if you just let me talk.' The other faces nodded.  
  
'Can I take your order?' The waitress asked, interrupting the conversation.  
  
'Uh, we don't know what we want yet but we will order our drinks.' Rachel said. They ordered their drinks quickly, wanting to get back to the conversation at hand.  
  
'Ok then, talk.' Phoebe challenged as soon as the waiter disappeared. Chandler took a deep breath.  
  
'Taylor is my brother-' Chandler started before Phoebe cut him off.  
  
'You told us that.'  
  
Chandler stared at her. 'Well let me finish then.' Taylor started to laugh and everyone at the table looked at him, he shook his head as way of apology and they turned back to Chandler only to notice he was laughing too.  
  
'What's so funny?' Monica asked. Taylor and Chandler started laughing harder as they recalled the memory.  
  
'It's nothing.' Chandler managed to say. 'When we were kids there was this girl next door we used to have these kind of arguments with, she was funny.'  
  
'Is she going to turn up in a minute too?' Ross said briskly. Chandler and Taylor stopped laughing and turned serious.  
  
'Ok then, like I said, Taylor is my brother, he's ten months older then me and we were really close growing up. Because of some of the things my parents did to offend the other kids parents I didn't really have a lot of friends in school but Taylor was always there for me.'  
  
'And vice versa.' Taylor interjected.  
  
'Yeah, and after our parents divorced we went to live with our aunt and uncle for a little while.' Chandler paused for a moment as if considering how to word the next part.  
  
'Our uncle Hal wasn't exactly in his 'right mind' if you know what I mean.' Taylor said for him. 'It was on a farm in the country and he had been there his entire life, home-schooled and only left it to go out on the town. He had gotten a bit isolated and crazy. His sister, our aunt, had gone out to look after him. he wasn't married and dint have any friends. There wasn't a TV or anything.'  
  
'Being alone for so long must really do something to your mind. He was absolutely crazy.' Chandler said. 'We arrived there and mom drove off, he came out and started yelling all this stuff at us, saying we were intruding on his property, I guess he didn't recognize us. But then Aunt Lucy came out and told him who we were. He seemed to calm down after that but he was still so creepy. He kept going out to his fields and to the woods and then coming back and down to his basement and spend hours down there.'  
  
'It was scary, we could hear strange noises and everything. And one day we were playing dares and Chandler dare me to go and see what was down in the basement.'  
  
'We were never allowed down there see.'  
  
'And so I went.' Taylor said. The two brothers were silent for a while, the others were looking at them, expecting an explanation, they didn't even notice when the waitress brought their drinks over.  
  
'Well that was a nice story but what does it have to do with all of the secrecy?' Rachel asked.  
  
'We found dead bodies down there, he had taken young girls from the woods and trapped them down there. He caught me down there looking and said he was going to get me as well.'  
Well there you go, a little more told. But still more to tell! Aren't I wicked ;-) Leave a review and I'll continue soon, I know where I'm going with this now so it wont be long. Love ya all. 


	5. Chandler's Secret 5

Heya people! I'm sorry this took a long time but to make up for it it's extra long! The bits in italic are Chandler's memories and written in first person to better describe what happened that night, which is better then how I described it ;-). I know it still leaves one question unanswered but by the end of this chapter they HAVE to say what happened ok? Thanx everyone, and don't forget to review! 

'Oh God.' Rachel exclaimed after what seemed like an eternity of silence. Chandler nodded to the comment, the fact that he was sent to this person to care for his life was too horrific for words. 

'Then what happened?' Ross prompted. Their questions of where Taylor had gone and why Chandler had never mentioned him were still unanswered.

'Well. We ran!' Taylor said. 'We ran away from him but he was chasing us, we got in to the courtyard and Aunt Lucy was just coming back from shopping. We ran to her and told her what we saw but she didn't believe us. Our uncle came up and asked what all the commotion was about and started acting as if nothing had happened. He laughed off Aunt Lucy when she told him what we said. We wanted to make her go down there but she wouldn't.'

'Aunt Lucy was going out that night again. We were begging her not to; we didn't want to be left alone with Uncle Tad. She still didn't believe us and we begged her to go down in the basement and see for herself, we were almost hysterical and so she agreed.' Chandler paused.

'Did she find them?' Monica asked gently, putting her hand softly on Chandler shoulder. Chandler shook his head.

'We were begging her to go down there so much that we weren't concentrating on where Uncle Tad was.'

'Which was stupid as he was the one we were scared of.' Taylor interjected.

'Aunt Lucy finally agreed to go down and look, to put our minds at ease if nothing else. She went down there and the door slammed behind her.'

'We heard her scream and we realised that he must have been down there.'

'He got her too.' Chandler whispered. They were silent again as the waitress came over and they ordered their food. The friends waited to hear the rest of the story but the two brothers were silent. It was obvious that they didn't want to continue.

'Yeah do you mind if we talk about something else?' Chandler said finally. The others nodded.

'Yeah, ok.' Ross said. 'Why didn't you tell us about this before?'

Chandler sighed. 'I meant about a different subject!' He snapped. All of this was getting to him.

'Ok I have a different subject.' Phoebe piped up. 'In the café earlier you said you were writing a book. Tell us about that!' It was clear from Chandler's face that he had hoped she had forgotten about that.

'You're writing a book?' Monica asked. Chandler smiled slightly and looked up.

'Yeah, I got fed up with work so I started writing whenever I would usually play games or look at … websites all day I just wrote. It was quite easy actually.'

'Whoa' Said Rachel, genially impressed. 'What books have you wrote?'

Chandler winked at her. 'The one you're reading.' He said.

'That can't be right, that guys name is Matthew Taylor' Rachel said frowning. 

'Matthew was what my name had been changed to.' Taylor explained. 'So he just combined the two names.'

'Oh.' Rachel understood. 'Why?'

'I dunno, just didn't want to use my real name' Chandler replied. Their food had arrived, in record time. They began to eat and talked about anything but what had happened to Chandler and Taylor. It wasn't until coffee that Ross brought it up again.

'Are you going to tell us about why you didn't mention Taylor before?' He spoke up. The others look at him. 

Chandler sighed. 'Ok. Taylor will tell the rest of the story.' He said in that child-like way. Taylor rolled his eyes.

'We heard her scream and we didn't know what to do. It was too late to run, we could hear the footsteps coming back up the stairs. Chandler told me to run and so I did. He ran as well but we ended up getting spilt up. He was upstairs somewhere and I was in the downstairs closet. He came crashing through the house for searching for us. He found me first.'

'But he never came looking for me.' Chandler continued. 'He took Taylor out of the house and drove away. That was the last time I saw him.'

The others were silent again and as their waitress came over Monica asked for their check, feeling that they would be better talking about this at home.

'Are we going to back to our apartment?' Monica asked Chandler, feeling that it was his and Taylor's decision. They both nodded in unison and Monica almost smiled at how close they were before she realised how hard it must have been for them to have been separated like that. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chandler, Monica, Ross and Taylor were in the porche on the way back to the apartment. Chandler sighed and rested his head on Taylor's shoulder as they went through the busy streets of New York City. 

His mind went back to that night, the last time he ever saw his brother. 

'Please!!!! Aunt Lucy you HAVE to believe us.' Taylor was sobbing. I was tugging on her arm, pulling her towards the door to the basement. She had to see what was down there, those dead bodies of the girls. I was glad I hadn't actually seen them at that point but Taylor had. I knew he wasn't lying to me, there was no reason for him to.

_'Children PLEASE!' She yelled. She wasn't very happy with us, we had been bugging her all night to come and see what was down there, to prove that we weren't lying and that Uncle Tad was a bad person. 'Leave me alone, I'm going out tonight and I NEVER get to go out, I'm always stuck looking after you two because my God damn sister couldn't hack it.' She pushed me off of her arm and walked up the dusty stairs to her room. _

_The boards creaked under her steps, the whole house was in bad condition. It had been built by my great great uncle and his wife years ago. It wasn't a badly built house and not old either but still it was dark and dingy with joints that creaked in the night and put images of bad creatures in to young children's minds. It created shadows on the walls in the middle of the night and reflections in the mirrors and windows that weren't really there. But it had not created what Taylor had seen._

_'But they're really down there!' Taylor tried again. Aunt Lucy sighed and opened the door to her room, we followed her in there before she had the chance to slam it in our faces._

_'You two are just trying to create mischief!' She insisted. I exchanged a look with Taylor, she would never believe us. But why? Surely she wasn't happy here having to look after her brother and her older sisters children so why was she still here? Why did she want to stick up for him?_

_'But we're not Aunt Lucy.' I said firmly. She stared down at me before grabbing my arm and the back of Taylor's neck to shove us out of the room. She let out a small aggravated noise as the door slammed and a lock sounded. I stared at Taylor and we wondered what to do. _

_'They were down there though!' Taylor pitifully insisted to the closed the door. Aunt Lucy must have heard him but chose to ignore it. I was only nine, Taylor just turned ten last week, but we were more mature then other boys at our age. I guess that's why I was so immature later on in life. _

_'We have to make her see!' I whispered. Taylor nodded, most of the time we didn't need to speak when it was something as important as this. When our parents were fighting and they would both leave the house in order to let out steam we would, without question, go and tidy up all the plates that had been smashed and glasses broken, fed ourselves and wait nervously for them to return, when we would run to our room to hide form more vicious onslaught from them._

_'Are you kids still on about that?' A voice said behind us. We both froze, feeling the cold, hard eyes of Uncle Tad bore in to us from behind. We turned around slowly to face him, our expressions and movements reflected in each other. To people who didn't know us, or even know of us, we were seen as twins, the age difference not recognizable until mentioned and appearances so similar it was difficult to tell us apart for the first few minutes with us._

_'Why must you pester your Aunt with these lies?' He spoke to us, his tone was indifferent to what was happening. 'Dead girls in the basement! I've never heard such crap! What do you think I do then? Grab girls from the woods and bring them back here to kill them? Who am I, the Blair Witch?' The look on his face, the impression of his eyes told us that he was admitting it, this was what he was doing. _

_'Tad, could you please take them away from me? They're driving me crazy with all this talk about dead bodies in the basement.' Aunt Lucy called from her bedroom. Uncle Tad grabbed our arms and hauled us downstairs. We cried our to Aunt Lucy but she ignored us again. _

_'Listen you little brats! My sisters may not realise it but I sure do. You're trouble makers the both of you!' He whispered manically at us. We didn't move, his grip on us so strong he could have snapped our frail arms like a twig if he wanted to. 'When your precious aunt leaves tonight I am going to make sure that you never tell anyone about this! You got that?' We both nodded silently, being twins again in our movements, and he let go of our arms._

_He left the room and we huddled together, figuring out a way to save ourselves without even using words. _

_'Right kids, I'm leaving now, I want you to be good and show you can be trusted so that I can go out more often and not stuck in this place all the time!' Aunt Lucy said to us as she walked down the stairs. _

_'Aunt Lucy…' I began, I knew what to do, but not what to say._

_'Where did you put our bikes when we came?' Taylor finished. **Brilliant!** I thought. _

_Aunt Lucy sighed heavily and glared at us. 'In the basement.' She said, her voice sounding like steel. _

_'We wanted to go bike riding before it got dark. Uncle Tad said he was going to get them for us but then he went to the woods again for a walk.' I lied. Where did he go anyway? 'You know he'll be gone for ho-ours!!' I whined, hoping to win her over._

_'Well it will be dark very soon so you wont have a lot of time anyway.' She told us sternly. _

_'But we can turn to yard light on. Please!' Taylor begged using his puppy dog eyes that always succeeded with our mother for trivial things like this. I turned on my charm to, hoping to win. _

_'Watch the TV if you're bored, you can ride in the morning.'_

_'But the TV bro-oke!' I whined again, I was the best at whining and usually won._

_'Fine!' She snapped. 'If you two are SO adamant  about me going in to this God forsaken basement than fine! I'll go and be late for my only night out for ages.' She yelled and then walked to the kitchen which held the door to the basement. We followed her, happy about winning but not smiling for we knew what she was about to see down there and the result of whatever was to come would be good for anyone, we weren't any safer, but she needed to know!_

_She opened the door mumbling under her breath something which we couldn't hear, and maybe that was a good thing. She twisted the handle and opened the door, turning on the light as she descended the stairs. It was cold in the kitchen which led the logical side of our minds to think that it was just a gust of wind that blew the door shut, sending it slamming against the rotting door frame. We jumped, the not so logical part of our minds already fearing the worst. Where was Uncle Tad?_

_The silence seemed deafening. The wait for anything was killing us. Time ticked by, a second matching an hour until we heard a scream. The most bloodcurdling, soul terrifying scream that tore in to the centre of our bodies and sent the blood accelerating through our veins._

_Shit! I thought. Guilt also cursing through me, whatever had happened to Aunt Lucy was all our fault. _

_Footsteps were heard climbing back up the stairs. I knew instantly that they weren't Aunt Lucy's, they were hard and heavy, whereas Aunt Lucy was a small light footed person. Like our mother._

_'Run!' I yelled and ran in the direction my brain sent me, not even paying attention to where it was. I didn't feel or hear Taylor behind me. I hid in Aunt Lucy's bedroom, feeling safer in her surroundings. I could hear familiar crashing sounds from downstairs. Uncle Tad was looking for us. I closed my eyes and tried to convince myself that this was just another fight between out parents, the crashes just tables being knocked over and angry, frustrated yells just exclamations of annoyance from memories of  whatever had triggered this fight between them.    _

_I heard another familiar sound, but unlike the other I could pretend it was something else and hide away from it. It was the sound of my brother screaming._

'Chandler?' Monica called. Chandler just sat there in the car still, even though the car had stopped. Chandler was still deep in the memories of that night. He shook himself from the depths of that night and smiled at her, climbing out of the car after his brother.

Phoebe's cab was already there, meaning that she had beaten them home. They climbed the stairs to apartment 20 and walked inside, seeing that Phoebe, Joey and Rachel were already there. And there was someone with them.

'Mom.' Chandler and Taylor gasped. Nora's eyes went wide as she saw **both** her sons standing in the doorway.

Ok, I have the next part written. It explains where Taylor was I PROMISE!!!!!!!!!!!! Please be patient and it will pay off. That was a long one and I need to go and watch the Simpsons now to revive myself before I can type up the next part. Please leave a review!!!! 


	6. Chandler's Secret 6

Heya lovely readers! Here's the next chapter for you all!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters neither do I have them hidden anywhere! (Matthew! Get back in the box NOW!!!!) eh hem.

Hey Mom.' Taylor said nervously. 

'Taylor.' Nora whispered. She got to her feet and rushed over to her son, pulling in to a hug, and to Chandler's surprise she pulled him in to the hug as well. The rest of that gang looked on at this reunion. It was sweet, watching a family be reunited for the first time in fifteen years.

'Nora was at the door when we came in.' Phoebe whispered to the others.

They pulled out of the hug and the gang could see that Nora was crying. She held on to Taylor's hand and looked in to his eyes.

'Where the hell were you!' She snapped, placing her own shaking hands on her hips. Chandler grinned and walked over to the rest of the gang. Taylor smiled and looked at his mother.

'It's a long story.' Chandler warned.

'Well would either of you care to tell me! I get a phone call in the middle of the night from my sister telling me that she and my sons are in trouble and then I never hear from her again and I only have one son returned to me!' She slumped down on a chair next to Chandler. 'Do you know what that does to a mother?' Chandler saw that his mom was crying and he put his hand on her shoulder.

'Uh, maybe we should just have a cup of coffee and then Taylor can tell us what happened. Unless you want us to leave you alone that is.' Monica suggested. Nora and Taylor signalled that they didn't mind everyone saying and everyone agreed to the coffee.

'Well, like Chandler said, it's a long story.' Taylor warned. No-one seemed bothered by this so Taylor continued. 'You already know what Chandler told you mom, but Aunt Lucy was murdered in the basement. She rescued me…' Taylor closed his eyes and remembered that night like his brother had done moments ago.

_There was a loud crash outside door that I was hiding behind. I started to shake, regretting starting the daring game which had started all of this off. I could hear Uncle Tads angry yells right outside. I closed my eyes, trying to feel safer. I hardly even heard as the door was ripped open but I screamed out when the hand clamped down on my shoulder, dragging me out of my hiding place. Although I was as terrified as I was I could help thinking about my brother as I was dragged out in to the van, was he alright?  _

_The doors to the truck were locked and within seconds the engine had been started and we were speeding away._

_I opened my eyes again and looked out of the window. Dusk was gathering and the shadows of the trees beside the road were growing. I didn't dare look at Uncle Tad for fear that he might start threatening me._

_Without warning the car slammed to a stop. I was flown forward on the dashboard, my seatbelt had been left to the side of me and was not there to hold me back in my seat. I got up, my chest hurting but fear of what might be happening now took the knowledge of the pain away. _

_'Get out of the car Tad!' A voice yelled from outside the truck. I looked up and saw my Aunt Lucy. Relief washed over me and I was almost crying. I watched from my seat as Uncle Tad jumped out of the truck and started fighting with Aunt Lucy. They were yelling and hitting out at each other and everything seemed to be getting too out of hand. Uncle Tad was crazy and taking it all out in Aunt Lucy, taking pleasure for her pain. Aunt Lucy was distressed with the life she lived, having to take care of her brother and her sisters younger children, not having a real life of her own and she was taking all of this out on him._

_I stayed a safe distance away from all of this wondering how Aunt Lucy had survived what had happened in the basement and where Chandler was. _

_Without warning Aunt Lucy slammed something down on Uncle Tad's head, making him slump to the ground. She stared down at him, the metal bar, from the back of the truck, that was in her hands dropped to the ground and she stared at what she had done._

_Her scream rang out in to the gathering night and scared me to the bone. I shrank back down in my seat, wishing I was back at home, my real home, in the bedroom in had shared with Chandler all my life, warm and safe just playing games. That was all children were meant to do._

_Aunt Lucy quickly climbed in to the truck and started it up, driving away quickly, the truck jolting up as she drove over Uncle Tads body. If he hadn't been killed before, he had been now._

_We travelled miles in silence, we were both too shocked and scared to talk. We were in the next town before she stopped the car at a gas station and turned to me._

_'Taylor sweetheart, we have to go away now, we have to start a new life, away from all of this. If we stay then we'll get caught, and if we get caught then I'll be sent to jail and you will be sent away. I'm so sorry.' She told me. She went on to explain why, she was in charge of Tad, if anything happened then she would be blamed. And what she had done would never be classed as self-defence._

_I was crying by the time she finished. I would never see my family again, never see Chandler again. She told me it was the best for me as well, to start a new life. I had seen too much._

_That night she booked us in to a motel and we stayed there the night while she sorted out what we were to do. She booked tickets to go to Canada, with the little money she had managed to save and arranged to have our names changed. She assured me that in time I would forget all about this and manage to be happy. I wasn't sure about that. But she was almost hysterical and I was scared so I tried my best to go along._

_I tried to ask what had happened to Chandler but she just kept telling me that he was alright, that was all I needed to know and then I was told to sleep. _

_Sleep was impossible, all the hysteria and madness of the last couple of hours were still with me. I listened to her frantic movements and tried to stay still, hoping to fool her in to thinking I was asleep. I heard her call my mother._

_'Nora, sweetheart-… I know what time it is but this is serious!… look Taylor and I are I trouble, Chandler's fine though, you need to come and pick him up tomorrow, we wont be there though. I'll call you later to tell you everything, I promise.' And then she hung up the phone. _

_As it turns out she never did contact my mom again._

None of the gang stayed for very long after the story, thinking that family could use some time alone. Monica had gone to take a bath and only Chandler, Taylor and Nora were left in the kitchen.

They talked for hours, learning a lot about what had happened to Taylor in his new life, but they noticed he left out vital things, like name and places, as if he was still hiding. Chandler feared that this may be the case as not once in the three weeks since he had been reunited with his brother had Taylor mentioned any details about his life.

Around one in the morning Taylor and Nora left, as luck would have it they were actually staying in the same hotel. Chandler promised to call round for breakfast the next day and they left.

Chandler sat in the livingroom, not wanting to sleep just yet. His mind wandered back to the day he ran in to his brother again, the shock of seeing him again. He had seen him in Central Park, by the water fountain where Chandler always liked to go. Another likeness in them both, they both had chosen the same place. 

Sleep crept up unwillingly on Chandler and he gave in unaware.

'Taylor!' I called out, running down the stairs, not caring for my own safety, just for my brother. The door was swinging open and  heard the truck start up, speeding away on the gravel courtyard. A noise behind me caught my attention, it was coming from the basement. I refused to go near there and ran over to the door to see if Uncle Tad had taken Taylor with him.

_A hand grabbed my shoulder from behind and I screamed in fright as loud as I could. I spun around to see what it was an almost screamed again. It was Aunt Lucy. _

_'Chandler! where's your brother?' She gasped. Somehow I managed to tell her Uncle Tad had taken him. She placed both her hands on my shoulders and look in to my eyes. _

_'Chandler, this is important. I'm going to go and get your brother, I need you to ring the police but don't tell them about the bodies in the basement, you never knew about them ok?' I nodded silently, this was all too horrifying for words. 'Good, now then your mother will be round tomorrow, I'll be back by then, I love you sweetheart.' She placed a kiss in my forehead and ran out the door, cutting through the woods to where I knew she would meet the road before Uncle Tad would. _

_That was the last I ever saw her.    _


	7. Epilogue

**Heya, I'm sorry for all of the confusion last time, I had uploaded the wrong chapter, well actually I had not saved the changes to the chapter before I uploaded it and then my computer crashed and I had to close it down without saving so I had to re-write this chapter, then I got annoyed with it and decided to totally re-write it and I have to credit almost all of this chapter to Llew coz she helped me SO much!!!!!! Thanks sweetie! * Hugs ***

**But here it is now, and if this versions still confuses you then… well I suppose I'll give up for a few days and then come back and re-re-re-write it.**

**If there is anyone still reading this then please review! If not then I'm a crazy person talking to myself lol.**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Friends characters, I just borrow them whenever I feel creative… or bored… or angry… or sad…

**Enjoy!**

_Chandler walked through Central Park, it was his day off work and his only one for a long time. Monica had gone to work and Joey was at auditions all day and as everyone else was at work he was alone so he had decided to take a walk._

_All week he had the unsettling feeling that someone was watching him, but there was always no-one there when he looked. Today when he looked round there was a man, his age, standing right behind him._

_'Hey Chandler.' the man said to him. Chandler was shocked. It couldn't be, not after all this time._

_'T-Taylor?' He stuttered. The man nodded and Chandler was even more shocked. He hadn't seen his brother for fifteen years! And here he was standing right next to him._

_'Miss me?' Taylor said, for lack of anything better to say. Chandler just stood rooted to the spot, unable to say anything at all._

_'W- um- What are you?' Chandler stammered. His brain and his mouth seemed to have temporarily disconnected from one another. This was all too surreal._

_'I know this is a shock Chandler.' That's an understatement Chandler thought._

_Suddenly Chandler pulled Taylor into a hug. Taylor grinned and hugged back, he had been following Chandler around for weeks but never found the right time to announce himself. After all, the sudden separation from each other so many years was bound to make some things difficult._   

~*~*~*~*~*~

Chandler groaned as the shrill ring of the phone woke him from his light sleep. Monica was a much deeper sleeper and she managed to stay asleep.

'Hello?' He asked, but the phone kept ringing and it was then that he realised he hadn't picked up the receiver.

'Hello?' He asked again, this time with the receiver in his hand.

'Chandler, it's me.' Taylor said down the phone. 'I need to speak to you now, it's urgent. Can you meet me round dads? I'm there now.'

Chandler mumbled something which could have resembled a 'yes' and hung up. He looked over at the clock which was blinking 5:12am and wondered what was so important that it couldn't wait until later. 

He wrote a quick note to Monica explaining where he had gone and headed out the door. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

'Ok, I'm here.' Chandler said as he met his brother outside the strip club that Ross had seen him come out of weeks ago. It was owned by his dad, one of a chain he had throughout the US. Chandler had only found this out when he had reunited with Taylor, he hadn't spoken much with his dad in the past.

'Ok, we need to go in and wait for dad, he's dealing with some business for a little while and I needed to talk to you.'

They walked in to the club and went through to a privet office in the back. Taylor locked the door and sat down next to his brother.

'What's so important then?' Chandler asked yawning, it had better be important.

'I have to leave.' Taylor admitted, avoiding his brothers eyes.

'What!' Chandler gasped. Not now, it was too soon, they had only just come together again.

'I never did tell you why we went in to hiding for so long. Why I am still hiding, did I?' Chandler shook his head, knowing where this was leading.

'No, you kept telling me you'd tell me later.'

'Well, now is later.' He stated and took a deep breath before continuing. 'Uncle Tad was a very bad person Chandler. Mom didn't know that when she sent us there, only Aunt Lucy knew, and I think the only reason she let us go there was because she thought she could control him. Obviously she couldn't.

Years ago, before we even went to live with him Uncle Tad had been a hit man. He worked for these people who called themselves the Harlin gang. By the time we were staying with him the gang had decided he was getting a bit too well known to keep doing all of the work. He was the one who planned murders, he met up with the gang in the woods and did most of his dirty work there.

Aunt Lucy knew he had been a hit man, he got caught once but she managed to hide it from the rest of the family and made him plea insanity. He spent some time in a mental institution and when he was let out she had to look after him. She didn't know that when he got out he was still working for them. Until she went down in the basement, she knew she had to run.

When she killed him it was worse, the gang relied on Uncle Tad, not so much but enough to want revenge. They came after us when we were in hiding and ten years ago they got Aunt Lucy, I was left on my own, fifteen years old and left to run away from a gang of murders and thefts. I stayed with some friends we had made and they kept me safe for a little while. 

There are a few states that the Harlin gang generally stay away from, because of another gang that sort of, well, ruled over it. I try to stay in those states, but that doesn't mean that they wont try to get me. But I am a little safer.' 

Taylor finished and fetched a drink from the counter in the corner. Chandler sat in the chair, stunned by the news he was given.

'Whoa.' Was the only thing he could think of saying. He couldn't believe his brother had to go through all of this when he was young. Chandler had been complaining about having to live with multiple stepfathers and siblings, all reminding him of how he had lost his brother and there was little chance of them ever seeing each other again. But this was terrible. 

'I had a call this morning from an old friend, he has connections in the Harlin gang. They know I'm in New York and they're going to come after me if I stay. I haven't got any choice. I'm going to stay in Florida until I can afford to move closer. I was think somewhere in Oklahoma would be perfect.'

'If you need money I can lend you some, I was saving up all my money from my books, you could use that.'

Taylor looked at his brother, touched by his generosity. 'Chandler, you're saving that up for your children, I couldn't take that.' He said softly. 

'But I've got other books already written, I'm just waiting for gaps between publishing them. I'll make more money.' He insisted. Taylor smiled and walked over and hugged his brother.

'I'm going to miss you, you know. I never thought I'd have to leave again so soon.'

'I'll miss you too.'

Their moment was interrupted by a tall man entering the room. He looked at the two men hugging in the room and smiled.

'We have rooms upstairs for that.' He joked. Chandler and Taylor broke apart and smiled at their father. 

'Hey dad.' They greeted simultaneously.

'Did you sort things out?' He asked Taylor, Taylor nodded. 'Good, you cant stay any longer then one day here, it wont be safe. I suggest that you pack your bags and leave as soon as you can.'

Taylor nodded, that would be the easiest thing to do.

'The banks don't open until about nine, you'll have to wait until then, otherwise you wont have any money.' Chandler told him. Taylor nodded again and smiled at his brother. They only had a few more hours together.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

'Why were you out all night Chandler?' Monica asked as soon as he got through the door that morning. He had talked things over with his father and Taylor for a few more hours before he had left to get changed and tell Monica where he was. During that time Taylor would pack to leave and tell Nora what was going on.

'Hello to you too.' He mumbled, pouring himself a drink from the coffee pot. He looked around and saw that the other four were there as well. 'What are you all doing here at eight in the morning?' 

'We have a lot to talk about, I mean you having a brother is a pretty big thing.' Phoebe said. Chandler nodded tiredly. 

'Why were you out?' Monica persisted staring at him for an answer.

'Taylor's leaving.' He said flatly, he didn't want to have to go in to the whole thing so soon. 'I've just come back to change, then he's leaving.'

'But you've only just come back together!' Rachel said, Chandler looked at her. 'You know that, we don't need to point it out.' She laughed uneasily and sat down.

Monica stood near to him looking uneasy.

'What is it?' He asked her. 

'I don't really want to tell you right now.' She admitted but Chandler insisted that she did. 'Your work rang a few minutes ago, you missed a very important meeting and they say you haven't been working so hard recently and they're going to have to let you go.'

'They've fired me?' Monica nodded. 'Thank God!' He exclaimed. The others looked at him as if he had gone mad.

'Chandler, we know you hate your job, but that's not a good thing.' Ross told him. Chandler smiled.

'Well it means I wont have to quit. I don't want to work there any more. I don't have to either!' He said excitedly.

'Uh, Chandler. there's a little thing called money, and you need a job to get that' 

'Or you could just be good at writing books.' He laughed. It suddenly clicked with the others and they remembered what he had told them in the restaurant. 

'So you're a writer now?' Joey asked. Chandler nodded proudly, it was a better title then a… well whatever everyone had labelled him as.

~*~*~*~*~*~

'I will definatly keep in touch Chandler, I promise.' Taylor said as he pulled out of a hug a few hours later. They were now at the airport and Taylor was getting ready to leave. 

'I know, this is all so sudden though, things were just getting to be a bit normal.' Chandler said sadly. He had loved the time he got to spend with his brother.

'I know. I'll call you and write to you, we can still see each other sometimes, just not all the time.' Taylor tried to reason. 'It can still be the same.' Chandler nodded, although he didn't really believe it.

'Last call for flight 11243 to Tulsa' The announcer called.

'I guess this is it then.' Chandler remarked.

'Just for a little while.' They hugged one last time before Taylor headed for the plane.

Chandler stayed until he saw the plane take off, taking his brother away from him again.

Monica came up behind him and wrapped her arm around his waist. The others had come with them to say goodbye, but felt best to leave them alone for their last moments together.

'I'm gonna miss him.' Chandler stated. Monica nodded.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The next few days were strange, he had gotten used to having Taylor around, but now he was just… gone. Like nothing had happened.

The next day he had a letter in the mail the scrawly writing on the front was familiar and he was pleased his brother was upholding his end of the deal. 

_Dear Chandler,_

_Thank you so much for all you have done for me. I'm here now and I'm safe, the Harlin gang don't know I'm here. It's nice here and with the money you've lent me I have a nice apartment. I've gotten a job, promise you wont laugh but I'm a data processor. Oh well at least it pays good._

_I'll write again soon, hope you're all alright and I miss you._

_Give my love to everyone and don't break up what you've managed to get with dad. Promise me that. Ok then._

_Write back soon_

_Love Taylor. _


End file.
